Deadly Affection

‘That’s not love’

17 have died in domestic violence cases in six months

A 2-year-old girl, who loved animal crackers and Minnie Mouse, was allegedly suffocated by her father’s fianceè. Police say a mother of five was gunned down by her estranged husband after picking her kids up from daycare. A man who intended to watch his son play baseball over Father’s Day weekend was found dead, apparently shot by his ex-girlfriend.

These are a few of the horrifying domestic violence fatalities that have occurred in North Texas since January, when The Dallas Morning News began tracking such incidents in its yearlong “Deadly Affection” series.

Through June, 17 people had died of domestic violence in Dallas, Collin, Rockwall and Denton counties.

For the purpose of the series, domestic homicides are killings that occur at the hands of another, when the relationship includes family members, significant others, those sharing a home, or others killed because of a domestic relationship, such as a new partner or non-biological child.

It’s impossible to compare the death toll to previous years, because the counties don’t officially track fatalities by domestic violence.

Each victim, however, had a life worth remembering, a story worth sharing.

The seven women, seven men and three children who died represent mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, brothers and sisters. They were friends, neighbors and colleagues.

For every victim, countless others were left behind to grieve. In about half the cases, the suspect committed suicide, adding to the carnage that reverberates throughout the community.

“We’re just heartbroken, just absolutely devastated,” said Bob Hughes, who worked with Melissa Williams, the mother killed outside a McKinney day care center.

Her five kids were among the more than two dozen children left without a parent so far this year.

The Williams case was typical of the family homicides that usually grab public attention: a female victim and a male perpetrator, who were once romantic partners, and a gun.

But others showed the complexity of family violence because they didn’t fit the stereotype.

While slightly over half the killings were by firearm, consistent with national and statewide statistics, others were due to stabbings, beatings or suffocation.

Not all involved a romantic relationship, and they took place in neighborhoods both poor and affluent.

The North Texas cases also included a surprising number of female perpetrators — six of the 16 suspects are women.

From police to the courts, officials have committed to trying to prevent abuse from turning deadly.

Dallas County, for example, is creating a gun confiscation program after The News reported that the county regularly failed to enforce laws that forbid certain abusers from having guns.

Still, the violence persists.

And the horror is compounded by the fact that the victims were killed, not by a stranger at random, but by someone who had been invited into their lives, who often planned the murder meticulously and called it “love.”

“That’s not love,” said Patsy Anderson, the sister of the most recent victim, Lahomer Anderson. “That’s just crazy.”